The cuirass of the Household troops which they wear on important occasions, as well as the metal helmets of various regiments, are survivals from the time when armour was of use, and if we examine the shoulders of certain soldiers, we shall find that there are vestiges of chain mail, though now this only takes the place of epaulettes. (See Figure 145.) To see chain mail in its perfection we must go back to the time of Edward I, and if we look, for instance, at the brass of Sir John D'Aubernoun (who died in the year 1277) or of Sir Richard de Trumpington, A.D. 1289 (see Figure 146), which are the earliest remaining in this country, we shall find that the chain mail now represented by a little patch on the shoulder then covered the head and neck, arms and hands, body, feet and legs. [Illustration: FIG. 145.--Relic of chain mail on the shoulder of an Imperial Yeoman.] As time went on, plate armour was mixed with the mail, until at last, in the time of Henry IV, we get the complete plate period in which there was a breastplate and a corresponding back plate, which had already appeared in the period of transition of chain mail to plate armour. From thence onward the development of armour progressed until it gradually disappeared. In Stuart times, jack boots and spur leathers took the place of the armour on the legs, and a buff coat that on the body, with the exception of a gorget. This came to be in the early part of the nineteenth century, merely a small badge of the officer on duty, and in a still more diminished form is to be seen in some foreign armies. [Illustration: FIG. 146.--Chain mail illustrated by the brass of Sir Richard de Trumpington, A.D. 1289.] In the earlier part of the book it was made evident that military uniforms afford a fine field for research, though apart from the remains of armour, however, they are comparatively modern. It was not, indeed, until the reign of Charles II that we meet with uniforms regularly adopted by the Army; and the red coat which has given its name to the soldier, though many regiments are dressed in other colours, was previous to that time merely a best coat. We see it now on fox-hunters and golfers, though a long coat of this colour is still worn by the King's footmen and coachmen. A writer in the _Spectator_, No. 129, says, when speaking of Cornwall: "Here we fancied ourselves in Charles II's reign, people having made little variation in their dress since that time. The smartest of the country squires appear still in the Monmouth cock; when they go a-wooing (whether they have any post in the militia or not) they put on a red coat."